Bruin Tea: Which student government positions have the biggest stipends?

June 3, 2019 1:58 am

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Student governments on campus include the Undergraduate Students Association Council, the Graduate Students Association, the On-Campus Housing Council and Resident Government Council.

Other student representative positions are appointed to other campus bodies by USAC and GSA.

USAC officers receive about $10,000 per year, said USAC President Robert Watson. The amount varies throughout the year from $244 per week during the academic year to $84 per week during the summer.

USAC stipends are not allowed to exceed $960 per month and should be equivalent to working a 20-hour work week, according to the council’s financial bylaws.

GSA executive officers receive anywhere from $725 to $914 per month, said GSA President Zak Fisher in an email statement. This translates to $8,700 to $10,968 per year. Both USAC and GSA stipends come from student fees.

Both councils appoint members to other student representative positions such as the Associated Students UCLA board of directors or the Student Fee Advisory Committee.

ASUCLA board members receive stipends that total that year’s mandatory student fees applicable to each member, meaning undergraduate and graduate board members receive slightly different stipends, said Kevin Kato, an undergraduate ASUCLA board member in an email statement.

Mandatory student fees include tuition among other fees that apply to all undergraduate students and graduate students and are set forth by information on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website.

These fees do not include any fee that does not equally apply to all undergraduate or graduate students, such as course materials fees or professional school fees, according to the ASUCLA Board of Directors stipend policy.

Graduate students on SFAC, who are nominated by GSA and approved by UCLA administration, receive up to $1,000 per quarter.

The Hill government includes the On-Campus Hill Council and the Resident Government Councils. OCHC executive board members receive between $1,500 to $2,000 per quarter depending on their position, while RGC members receive between $400 to $500 per quarter, depending on their appointment date.

Watson said stipends for student representative positions are necessary considering the amount of responsibilities officers are expected to take on.

“We have actual jobs where we’re operating large amounts of funding bodies that are ultimately serving students,” Watson said. “We’re working on consistent programs that run year long. Some of our offices even run commissions that oversee dozens of student organizations.”